If it wasn’t
for people church life would be simple. You know what I’m saying. Sometimes the
hardest part of being involved in ministry is dealing with people. The truth is
people are complicated, emotional, and tend to be a touch selfish. Conflict is
bound to happen when more than two individuals spend much time in close
proximity to one another.
Come on, if
we are brutally honest, there are parts of church life that are less desirable
than others. While I look forward to preaching and teaching the word and
spending time with individuals in counseling and visiting situations, I don’t
look forward to the politics of church. Anytime you get a group of people together
who think differently and start discussing things such as money or traditions you
are in for a long night. These issues have split many a church throughout church history.
This is
nothing new. These issues plagued the early church as well. In fact one of their
biggest obstacles was over the traditions of their forefathers. The debated the
same things about whether salvation was a free gift of grace or dependent on
human works. There was great debate in their time and that same debate carried
on today. I have heard many people say, “We should not debate over Scripture”
but salvation is no trivial matter. If we are to get salvation wrong we get the
whole Christianity thing wrong. It’s that simple.
In Acts that was what was on salvation
and chopping block: “How do we introduce outsiders to the gospel?”
One group
wanted to require them to undergo a special ceremony to prove their loyalty,
and required them to keep a list of man-made laws and traditions. These men
were self-appointed guards of legalism. They were requiring more than God had
asked. They were adding elements on to salvation. They made Salvation and
inclusion into the church about works and not about grace. The Judaizers were
saying that Gentiles must become Jews before they could become Christians.
How much are
we like that in our groups and churches. Jesus made the gates to heaven narrow
enough, too narrow for us to convert the way of Christ into a toll road. We are
called to call people to repentance in Christ, they do not have to become Baptists,
or Pentecostals, or ect. We call them to repentance in Christ, not admittance
in our belief system
THE
SOLUTION
When it
comes to a doctrinal issue, now that is something we can’t just vote on. That
takes some serious prayer, study, fasting, and discussion. In every church differing
opinions are abounding; however, peacemakers are few and far in between. So
what do we do when we are faced with a dilemma in church life? Who is qualified
to make spiritual decisions for the body? Who establishes the doctrine of the
church? When we can’t agree what is the solution?
Fortunately,
God did not leave us in the dark when it comes to these issues. Sometimes it
can be disconcerting and difficult to hear God’s voice through men because
while God’s word is perfect man’s interpretation is subject to error. That is
why God gives us a structure to resolve conflicts and keep unity.
God’s
solution to overcoming disagreements and disputes is accountable leadership and
submission to an elder body. Like it or not God places “Elders” in every church
who are to establish doctrine and lead through disputes and are held
accountable to other leaders and to God. The Body is expected to submit to
their teaching and lead. The answer to resolving a matter is not by voice vote
or secret ballot but by submitting to an elder body that prayerfully and
diligently walks through the scriptures and seeks God for an answer.
This style
of conflict resolution goes all the way back to Acts 15. Historically church
leaders have met to discuss doctrine and settle issues and there has always been
resistance to doing the work of the gospel. Yet, it is through these moments
when people of differing views sit around the table and discus doctrine that we
can come to see the error of our own ways. For truthfully we are all human and
we could all be wrong on a great many things and only by engaging in
challenging debates will we be confronted with that error. To error is human
but are we willing to be vulnerable and to humble ourselves and listen to
others viewpoints?
We must
humble ourselves, realize we are fallible, and accept God’s plan of salvation
and sanctification of His church. God has set a pattern for his church to
follow: submission to a plurality of elders who are accountable to each other
and to God. We are called to submit one to another and come to a place where we
accept that although I personally disagree I am able to lay down my pride and
not feel the need to voice all my objections. The Kingdom of God is not a
democracy sometimes we have to yield our will and do what His word says.
Are we willing to lay
our pride down before the king? Are we willing to stop trying to rule our own
life, Are we guilty of trying manipulating others? Are we guilty of putting a
heavier burden on outsiders than we ourselves could bear? At the foot of the
cross we must lay it all down.
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